Furnace



May 27, 1930. H D. wEED 1,760,459

FURNACE Filed Aug. 19, 1929 Patented May 27, 1930 PATENT oFFicE HARRY D. WEED, SOUTHPORT, CONNECTICUT FURNACE Application led August 19, 1929. Serial No. 386,917.

A further object of this invention is to provide a means for preheatiner the circu lating medium by exposing saic medium to the heat of furnace gases which have passed beyond the outlet for the heated circulating medium from the heater, thus utilizing heating units that are ordinarily wasted.

i A'still further object is to provide a heating system wherein the circulating medium isv conducted in a direction counter to the direction of flow of the furnace gases after these gases have left a heating means correspending to the usual furnace or heater to preheatthis medium and then is conducted in the same direction asV the flow of the furnace gases to complete the heating process and, further, having controllable baiiie means for deflecting the furnace gases about the coil or heating element and which system shall be equally applicable to coal, gas or oil furnaces. y With the foregoing and otherobjects in oview this invention embodies certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of Y parts as set forth and claimed in the follow.- 4 ing specification considered in connection with the accompanying drawing.

. In this drawing:

` Fig.v 1 shows a partly broken and partly vertical sectional view of one embodiment` of this invention, the section being substantially on line 1-1 of Fig. 2.

Fig.I `2 shows a section on line 2 2 of ig. 3 shows a part section and partelevation of thecoil as removed from the furnace."

ment ofthe invention, being partly sectional on the line 4:-4 of Fig. 5, and 1 Fig. 5 shows ya top plan view of the coil of the latteryembodiment, on line 5`-5' of rig. 4 shows 'a Slightly different embodi;

The furnace shown in the drawings is of the gas or oil heating type, but may likewise be of the coal burning type. The furnace shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3 has a casing 10 and the usual smoke pipe 11 for conducting the products of combustion or furnace gases therefrom and leading to the usual chimney (not shown). The heating device has an improved construction and arrangement of the heating means to secure a more 4efficient heating of the circulating medium with less loss of heat up the smoke flue than in the ordinary heaters as will be more fully disclosed later. Supported in the casing 10 by any suitable means such as'brackets 13 is a heating means for the circulating medium which medium may be air, water or other suitable gaseous or liquid medium. A conduit 18 conducts the circulating medium to the heating' means within the casing and conduit 18 encircles at least a portion of the smoke pipe 11 to thereby expose the circulating medium to be preheated by the furnace gases escaping through this pipe 11, and thus make use of heat units that are otherwise wasted. A damper 19 controlling an inlet opening in the conduit 18 may be used to admit the circulating medium if air is used, or a blower or pump 20 may be used to insure a more positive circulation. The blower 20 may be used to force atmosphericI air through the heater in which case the damper 19 is closed when blower 20 is in operation, or damper 19 may be omitted, and the opening permanently closed, while blower 2O may be used to force either atmospheric .air through the heaterl or if a lclosed system is used, i. e. if the `circulating medium is returned from the house radiators or registers, then blower 20 vmay be used to keep vit in 90 circulation, where air, waterorfother gases or liquids are` used as the circulatino medium, the return from the heating radiators to the blower or lpump being indicated at 20,', It will likewise be` understood that both. damper 19may be permanently closed,v and blowerf20 be omitted and ,convection alone may berelied on to lkeep theheating medium circulating" through thesys'tem. t

Furthermore, when", blower v2() is used, y the 'lcbeheatedbythefu l u by the sections motor 58 for driving it may have its switch connected up to the gas or oil heater l2 so that turning on or o the heater 12 will simultaneously turn on orv off the motor 58 g while if a coal furnace is used, the motor may run continuously or be turned olli' manually at will. Or the motor and the burner may be controlled automatically by a thermostat 59 in one of the rooms to be heated, operatfrom a battery 60 through a relay 61v to control the motor which is connected to the house wiring system 62 and the thermostat relay ma also control the fuel burner A12 by a suita le electrically operated valve u 63. If a li uid fuel burner is used the thermostat wou d control the motor driving the blower for this burner as well as the fuel. A ilot light for the burner is shown at 64. e circulating medium is conducted by gn conduit 18 counter the flow of the furnace gases in pipe 11 to the heating means in the casing and enters through an openin 21 in the top section 23 from a space 17 formed between upper ring or partition 16 and furze nace top 22. This heating means as illustrated comprises a number of flattened annular sections, each of which has an inlet an'd an outlet for the circulating medium separated by a partition 28 so the lo medium is required to flow entirely aroun the section in passing through it. After going through inlet 21 of top section 23, the circulating medium passes entirely around this section and makes its exit throu h outlet 24 by a connecting pipe 25 to the mlet 26 of the next lower section 27. The wall 28 `in section 27 separates inlet 26 from outlet 29, thus `forcin the circulating medium to travel around t rough section 27 before it makes its exit there heated. The circulating medium is then conducted from outlet 29 through a connecting pipe 31 downwardly to the inlet opening32 of the lowermost section 33. It then circulates through section 33 to outlet 34 to a connecti i 35 -leading upwardly and hence with se same direction as the flow of the furnace gases, to inlet 36 of section 37 From then on, the circulating medium continues to rnace gases, as it travels u wardl through similar additional sections t and 3 it being obvious that there mav be Y as many sections as desired, either -in the upper preheatin portion or unit represented i Y and 27 or in the lower heatlng 4rtion or unit comprising the sections 33, Y ,B8-and 39. Havln lpassed through' the topmost section 39 of te lower heating portion or unit and having thus become thorl ollhly heated the circulating medium'is then enl'nducte'd therefrom by a conduit 41, which -laada it to the house heating lradiators or lighters and then may be returned toconduit 18 if desired, as eet forth above. A series of Il controllable dempers 42 having heating rom to be additionally4 handles 43 may be used to control the draft. Thus in starting a coal fire a direct draft may be secured by opening the dampers 42 permitting the gases to flow through the central openings in the heating sections. When these dampers are closed as shown in the drawings they, with the baffles 14, and 16 cause the hot gases to flow around the heating sections to give the maximum heating effect. Thusv the gases pass up over the outer edge of section 33 then inwardly and through the cen' to the fire, and means for finally conducting the medium from the unit nearest the'fire.

yThus the conductor 18 and the two upper sections23 and 27, either one or both, may be considered as theunit farther' from the fire, while the portion composed of the four lower sections 33,137,38 and 39 may be considered as the unit nearest to the fire. This unit may be saidI to correspond in a way to the heating unit of the ordinary furnace in which the circulating medium enters at the lower part of the unit or the portion nearest the fire and leaves it at the end farthest from the fire. In other words,l there isl no heating means in the ordinary furnace above or beyond this unit.

It will be obvious that under these conditions,

the hot gases or productsof combustion must leave the furnace at a higher temperature than the highest temperature of the circulat' ing medium as it leaves the furnace; causing a great loss of heat and a very ineilicient f urnace. With my improved construction, however, the heating unit or unit (represented by members 18, 23, 27, either or both) beyond the unit nearest the fire contains the circulating medium when it is at its lowest tempera-ture A and therefore absorbs heat units from the escaping ases which would otherwise be lost, and by avingthe circulating medium flow in this u nit in a direction counter to the direction of flow of the hot gases, the combustion gases leave the heating means at the point where the Acirculating medium is the coldest. Therefore, in my improved device, the products of combustion leave the furnace or heating means at a temperature much below the temperature of the circulating heating medium as it leaves'the furnace, which would be impossible in the'old types of furnaces. My improved construction of heating device, therefore, transfers a much larger numberL of heat units from the combustion gases to the circulating medium, and much ess heat is lost up the stack than in the ordinary types of furnaces, giving a much greater efficiency and requiring less fuel for the same heating effect. It will, of course, be understood that altho the drawing illustrates the heating units arranged in relative vertical relation, the same e'ect can be secured by a horizontal arrangement.

From the above description, it will be evident this heater will be very eiicient in the transfer of heat from the hot products of combustion to the circulating medium. The medium isY first preheated in conduit 18 and further heated in the upper unit sections 23 and 27 of the heating means by a flow counter or in the opposite direction to the direction of flow of the heated gases. The gases thus leave the heater Where the medium to be heated is the coolest insuring a greater transfer of heat, and the gases leave the furnace at a lower temperature and therefore carry less heat up the chimney than in the ordinary heaters where the medium to-be heated Hows always in the same direction as the hot gases so that the medium is the hottest at the point where the gases leave the furnace. Thus as in this heater the gases leave the furnace at a lower temperature, a greater portion of the heat units are utilized and less heat is lost up the chimney, giving greater efliciency.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is shown a somewhat different form of heating meansv alt-ho the principle is-the same as in the form already described. AIn this arrangement the heating means is made up of a plurality of superposed heating elements the same as in the first form, but the individual elements are of cast iron construction with end members 54 and 55 connected by transverse bars 56 through which the heating medium passes. The smoke pipe 11 is surrounded by a preheating conduit 18 as in the first form to which the blower 20 is connected, the heating medium is carried from this conduit through a. connect-ion .56 to the 'upper heating element 53, the connection 56 being preferably adjacent one end of the end member 54. The exit from the element 53 is from the lower side of the opposite end of the member 55 as indicated at 57 and to the next lower element :5l-through which it passes in the same manner and fromwhich it is carried by pipe 52 to the lower element 63. After passing through this latter element it passes through a connection 64 to the next upper element 65 and through similar connections 66 and 68 and similar elements 67 and 69from which it issues through the conduit 70' and is conducted to the radiators or registers in the rooms to be heated. Thus the conduit 18 and the sections 51 and53, either one or both, may be considered as the unitr farther from the fire '.while the portion composed'of the sections 63, 65, 67 and 69 may be considered as the unit nearest the fire. It will be seen that the heating medium passes through the upper portion or unit of the heating means fartherfroni the lire (pipe 18 and sections 53 and 51) in a direction counter or opposite to the direction or flow of the hot gases, the same as in the first form, but flows through the lower portion or unit of the heating means nearest the fire (sections 63, 65, 67 and 69) in the same direction as the flow of the gases, so that in` this form we have the same principle andsecure the same advantages of efficientheat-ing as in the first form. This, however', shows that the same principle can be carried out iu different specific constructions of heat` ing elements.

It will thus be seen that this invention comprises a very inexpensive and eficient mode of extracting the maximum number of heat units from the furnace gases so as to heat a house or other building at a minimum cost. `It is further apparent that this invention is operative with either air or water or other gaseous or liquid circulating medium, and that it may be applied to any of the well known types of coal, gas or oil furnaces. Further, it may be used either as a closed system. using the same circulating medium over and over, or may be used with atmospheric air as the circulating medium, thus serving to also ventilate the house or building being heated. I

invention, what is claimed is: v

1. In a furnace, an enclosing casing providing a combustion chamber in the lower partthereof, an exit flue vfor the products of combustion at `the upper part thereof, a heating means for a circulating medium in said casing comprising upper and lower portions, an inlet for the circulating medium to the upper part of the upper portion, a conduit leading from the lower part of the upper portion, to the lower part of the lower portion, and a conduit leading from the upper part of the lower portion.

2. In a furnace, an enclosing casing providing a combustion chamber, an exit flue for the medium from the` group farthest from` the fire to the group nearest the tire, and means for conducting the medium from the latter groupV to a point of use.

3, In a furnaee,.an enclosing casing' pro-- vldlngl a combustion chamber inthe lower part thereof, an exit flue for -the products of combustion at the upper part thereof, a heatmg means for a clrculatlng medium in said casing comprising upper and lower portions,

an inlet for the circulating medium to the' upper'part of the upper portion, a conduit leading from the lower part of the upper portion to the lower part of the lower portion, a conduit leading from the upper part ofthe lower portion, and a power means for forcing the circulating medium through the heating means.

4. In a furnace, a. heating means for a circulating medium having an inlet conduit at the top, a pre-heating portion conducting the circulating medium counter the flow of the furnace gases,a connection from said preheating portion toa lower heating portion, said lower heating portion conducting the circulating medium in the same direction as the flow of the furnace gases, and a conduit leading the heated circulating medium from ithe top of the lower heating portion.

5. In a furnace having an exit pipe for the furnace gases, a heating means in said furnace for the circulating medium, a preheating conduitV about said pipe conducting the circulating medium to the heat-ing means, said heating means comprising a preheating. portion at the top of the furnace conducting the circulating medium counter the flow of the furnace gases, a connecting portion conducting the preheated circulating medium to a lower heating portion of said latter means, said heating portion leading the circulating medium in the same general direction as the flow of the combustion gases, a'nd an outlet conduit for said heated circulatin medium.

6. In a furnace having an exit ue for the furnace gases,- a heating means in said furnace for exposing the circulating medium to the furnace gases, a preheating conduit about the chimney conducting the exit flue medium counter the flow of the furnace gases to the ton of the heating means,v saidheating means including a preheating top portion for conducting the circulating medium counter the flow of the furnace gases, a connecting portion conducting the preheated circulating medium to a lower heating portion, said lower portion conducting the circulating medium with the flow of the furnace gases, a conduit leading the heated circulating medium from the top of the lower heating portion, and baffle means for -defiecting the furnace gases about the heating means.

7. -A furnace having a combustion'chamf ber and an exit flue for products of combustion, a heating means in said chamber, a conduit about said flue for preheating a circulating medium and conducting said medium to the top of said heating means, said means extending across the top of rsaid combustion chamber, then leading down towards the b ottom of said chamber and then extending across and upwardly in said combustion lchamber and aconduit for conducting said heated circulating medium from said heating i 8. A heating system comprising a furnace, an exit flue leading from said furnace, a circulating medium conduit about said flue means whereby the circulating medium may enter said conduit, said conduit entering said furnace and conducting said circulating medium counter the flow of the combustion gases back and forth across the top of the combustion chamber to preheat the same, said conduit then extending downwardly into said combustion chamber and then back and forth and upwardly in said chamber, thereby further heating the circulating medium, and said conduit then conducting said heated circulating medium away from said furnace.

9. In a furnace, an enclosing casing pro viding a combustion chamber in the lowerA part thereof, an exit flue for the products of combustion at the upper part thereof, a heating means for circulating fluid in said casing comprising a plurality of hollow sections spaced one above the other and-arranged in two groups, an upper and a lower group, each comprising one or more connected sections, means for conducting the circulating medium to the upper section of the upper group, means for conducting the medium from the lower section of the upper group to the lower section of the lower group, andmeans for conducting-the medium from the upper section of the lower group to a point of use.

10. A furnace comprising a plurality of heating units one of which is close to the fire and another of which is located farther fromthe fire,`means for admitting a circulatin medium to the unit that is farther removeil from the fire, means connecting the heating units to form a passage for the circulating medium to flowto the unit nearest the fire, and means for conducting the heated medium from the latter unit.

11. A furnace comprising a plurality of heating units one of which is located close to the lire and another of which is located farther from the tire, means for causing the products of combustion to flow past said units, means for admitting a circulating medium to the unit that is lfarther removed from the tire at a point where the products of combustion leave said unit, means for conducting the circulating medium from said unit at the opposite end thereof to the unit nearest thetire and delivering it to the portion of said latter unit nearest the fire, and means for conducting the heated medium from said latter unit at the portion thereof farthest from the fire.

12. A furnace comprising a plurality of heating units one of which is located close to the fire and another of which is located farther from the fire, means for causing the products of combustion to flow past said untsmeans for delivering a circulating nlef dium to the unit farther removed from the fire in a manner to cause it to flow through said unit in a direction counter to the direction of flow of the products of combustion over said unit, means for conducting the medium from said latter unit to the unlt nearest the re, and means for conducting the heated medium from the latter unit, said last two means being arranged t0 cause the medium to How through this unit in the same general direction as the owof the products of combustion over this unit.

13. In a heater provided with a fire box or combustion chamber from which the products of combustion circulate through the heater to the outlet or chimney to heat circulating air, conducting means in the heater for the circulating air, said circulating air f entering the part of the heater farthest from the fire and flowing to the part of the heater nearest the fire, means for conducting the heated air from the heater to a place of use, means for returning the air from the place of use to the heater, and means to cause circulation.

In testimony whereof I affix my si nature.

HARRY D. W ED. 

